Title: Announcements
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Morgan/Garcia
Prompt for
10_dates: #1 First
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to CBS. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time.
Summary: Part 10/10 of the ‘Long Way’-series. Well, it’s the last part, and it’s their first day as a couple, starting with their first date.
warnings: none
AN: So, here it is. The final chapter. Can you believe it?! It’s really been a long way, for our favorite couple as well as for me trying to get this done. But here it finally is. :)
I still haven’t started working in my new job, so there aren’t any news I can tell at the moment. Maybe next time. :)
When we last saw our two heroes, they had finally sorted things out, after Hotch had sent Derek to pick Penelope up from her doctor. Now, they’re having their first date - and they’re planning on telling the team about their relationship, their engagement and the baby. Hope you enjoy it!
The place he had chosen was cozy, and Penelope immediately liked it. He led her to a rather quiet corner, where they sat down on the sofa, close to each other.
“You like this place?“ he asked, smiling at her.
Penelope nodded. “Yeah, it's... beautiful.”
Grinning at her, he leaned over to softly peck her cheek. “Wait til you try the pancakes.”
She giggled, tilting her head to demand a real kiss.
Derek gladly complied.
A slight coughing interrupted them. “What can I get you?” the waitress asked, smiling at Derek.
Penelope blushed slightly and immediately started to feel uncomfortable. The girl was beautiful, slender, with dark hair and tanned skin... Exactly Derek's type - and everything she, Penelope, wasn't.
“Pancakes,” Derek told her, without taking his eyes off the woman next to him. “We'll take the pancakes. A coffee for me, and a frappuccino for the sweet lady.”
“All right,” the waitress said, frowning. She leaned forward in an attempt to gain Derek's attention by offering her cleavage to him. “And which sirup with the pancakes?”
It was painful how obvious the girl was offering herself to Derek, but he didn't even seem to take notice of her presence.
“Strawberry, right, Baby Girl?” he asked Penelope instead.
She nodded.
“And maple sirup for me,” he added.
“Uh huh.” The waitress turned around, holding her head up high, and stomped back to the counter.
Penelope giggled as she watched the waitress trying to pretend she didn't care that the hottest man on this planet had just sent her packing. “And Derek Morgan broke another heart.”
He blinked at her in confusion. “Huh?”
Penelope frowned at him for a second. Did he really not know what she was talking about? “The waitress,” she told him, pointing her head into the direction of the counter.
“Waitress?” he repeated.
Now, it was Penelope who blinked in confusion. “The girl who just took our orders.” She raised an eyebrow.
Derek just frowned. “What about her?”
“She was... practically... Never mind,” she mumbled. Her heart was skipping a few beats as she realized that Derek obviously hadn't noticed that hot and more than ready girl, because he only had eyes for her.
“So, Hotch already knows about us,” Derek said, deciding to change the topic as he realized that Penelope was starting to feel uncomfortable. He only wondered why. “And he knows about the baby.”
Penelope nodded. “After I... had avoided you for a while, he kind of figured it out on his own - except for the part about the baby.”
“What about the others?” he asked. “I mean, this is really big, and... we should make it kind of... official, don't you think?”
“Well, what… What do you have in mind?” Penelope carefully asked, not sure what ‘official’ was supposed to mean.
Derek grinned mischievously at her, making Penelope feel excited and a little scared at the same time. He wasn’t planning on ravishing her in front of the others, right?
The waitress interrupted them again, serving the coffee and the frappuccino.
Derek didn’t even seem to notice that it was a different girl now. He mumbled a thanks, without even looking at her.
Penelope smiled at the other woman, who was clearly older than the first waitress, and the woman winked at her.
When the waitress had gone back to the counter, Derek grabbed Penelope’s hand and searched her eyes with his. “I’m serious about this, Baby Girl. You and I having a baby is a big deal, and I… I don’t want to tell the others during the daily briefing.”
She just nodded, still not sure what he was driving at.
“So, I thought about having a party. You know, just some time off with our friends,” he suggested. “It’s been a long time since we last had the chance to just hang out as friends.”
“That’s true,” Penelope agreed. “And you want to tell them at the party?”
Derek smiled impishly again. “Nah, they’re all profilers, after all. We’ll let them figure it out on their own.”
Penelope raised her eyebrow. “You really think it will tip them off, if we cuddle the whole night long?”
Derek leaned so close that Penelope could feel his hot breath against her mouth. “No,” he whispered, “but this will.” Crossing the tiny distance between them, Derek pulled her into a breathtaking kiss.
“Yeah, certainly,” Penelope panted, rather than said.
“Besides,” Derek said conspiratorially, “the ring on your finger will be a unique identifier.”
Penelope’s eyes almost popped out of her head.
“What?” Derek frowned at her. “Did you think I wasn’t serious when I said I wanted to marry you earlier?”
“I did,” she assured him. “I just… I don’t know. I guess I just hadn’t realized you meant as soon as possible.”
“You know, I could tell you I was old-fashioned and thought that in a situation like this, I just have to put a ring on your finger immediately.” He smiled at her, took her hand in his, and gently kissed her fingertips. “But as a matter of fact, I want you to wear my ring so the whole world can see that you’re very much taken.”
“What, are you jealous?” Penelope tried not to show how exciting this thought was for her. Derek Morgan was jealous because of her.
“Yeah, maybe I am,” he admitted. “I just want to make sure that you don’t change your mind because a much hotter guy than me thought you were available and hit on you.”
“Yeah, how likely is that?” Penelope rolled her eyes.
Derek quickly looked around the small café and smiled at her. “I’d say chances are three to one only in this place.”
Penelope blinked at him in confusion. “Huh?”
“Look around!” Derek grinned at her as she let her eyes wander around the place. “There are five men in here, and three I would consider a potential threat.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they are,” Penelope mumbled, taking a sip from her cup.
“Hey…” Derek frowned at her. “Don’t think they didn’t notice you just because none of them approached you. It’s pretty obvious that you’re taken, with us kissing all the time.” To prove his words, he leaned in for another soft kiss. “But the ring will make it obvious to other men for the times I’m not around.”
Penelope giggled. Suddenly, she didn’t care anymore if Derek was right about the other men or not. It didn’t matter anyway. She had her own personal chocolate Adonis right by her side.
The waitress served their pancakes and smiled. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“The bill, please,” Derek told her. “Unfortunately, we’re a little in a hurry.”
Nodding, the older woman winked at Penelope again and turned to leave.
“Are we?” Penelope raised her eyebrows at Derek.
“Of course we are.” Derek grinned at her. “First, we need to buy the rings. Then we have to prepare everything for tonight - and we have to invite the whole team over. And then…”
“Wait a minute, you want to tell them today?”
“Sure,” Derek replied, shrugging. “Why wait? The team is in town now. Who knows about tomorrow or next week? Besides, I’m not sure I won’t just tell them tomorrow at work, because I’m overwhelmed by how lucky I am.”
“Okay, okay,” Penelope chuckled. “Your arguments are convincing.”
They finished their breakfast, teasing each other, laughing and kissing a lot in between.
Derek then took Penelope to the jeweler where he had chosen a ring. “I wanted to show it to you before I bought it and see if you like it,” he explained.
“It’s perfect,” she whispered, examining the ring on her finger, gold with a ruby on top.
“Good.” Derek gently kissed her temple. “Perfect is just good enough. I’ll take it.”
“No, you can’t,” Penelope told him in a low voice. “It’s probably too expensive. It really is perfect, but…”
Derek silenced her by putting his finger over her lips. Smiling, he turned to the jeweler. “I’ll take it.” He then turned back to Penelope and added, “Period.”
She couldn’t stop staring at the ring, and Derek couldn’t stop smiling at her. “It’s getting serious,” he whispered, as they entered his apartment and he pulled her into his arms.
“Yeah.” She closed her eyes for a moment, leaning her head against his muscular chest. “Are you getting cold feet?”
“No,” Derek chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “You?”
Grinning, Penelope looked up at him. “Don’t think you’re gonna get rid of me that easy!”
“Oh, I hope I won’t,” he teased back, and then leaned down for another kiss.
Soon, the kiss became more passionate, and Derek felt Penelope’s hands slip under his shirt. He knew they didn’t have time for this. Their friends would be here soon, and there was a lot to prepare. But he honestly didn’t care. It had been too long.
“I missed you,” Penelope whispered against his lips, as he started unbuttoning her blouse. “I missed you so much.”
Lifting her up, Derek carried her into his bedroom. “Just promise me one thing,” he whispered between soft kisses. “Promise that you’ll still be here when I wake up next time.”
“Promise,” she assured him. “I’m not going anywhere again, ever.”
They soon got lost in their emotions, thus forgetting about time, which was the only thing they didn’t have.
When Derek woke up, he wrapped his arms tighter around his Baby Girl, inhaling her scent.
“What time is it?” she mumbled against his chest, without opening her eyes.
“It’s…” Derek turned to take a look at the alarm clock on his bedside table, and shot up the next second. “Ten past five!”
“What?!” Penelope exclaimed. It had only been past twelve when they’d arrived at Derek’s apartment. Their friends would be here in less than an hour, and they hadn’t even started preparing anything yet.
“You take a shower, I’ll take care of the kitchen. We’ll switch afterwards,” Derek told her, before he disappeared out the door.
“Okay,” Penelope called after him.
It took her less than ten minutes to get ready, a personal record, and she found that Derek had cleaned up the kitchen and parts of the living room already.
“You can go to the bathroom now,” she softly told him. “I’ll take care of the rest - and the chili con carne.”
Smiling, Derek turned around to peck the tip of her nose. “How can you call it chili con carne, if it’s vegetarian?”
“Okay, let’s call it chili sin carne. Fits me better, anyway.” She leaned forward in a very lecherous way, making Derek growl.
“Baby, if you keep teasing me like this, we’ll never get out of bed again,” he said in a low voice, sending prickles down Penelope’s spine. But before she could say anything, he had disappeared towards the bathroom.
Taking a deep breath, Penelope started finishing cleaning up the living room.
About half an hour later, the ringing of the doorbell interrupted her in the middle of setting the living room table. She quickly got rid of the apron she was wearing and opened the door.
“Hey,” the girls greeted her, hugging Penelope and each handing her a bottle of wine.
“Come in,” Penelope told them. “Dinner is almost ready.”
Hotch waited until the rest of the team had disappeared into the living room, before he smiled at Penelope. “I guess you sorted things out.”
“Yeah, very much so,” Penelope said nodding. “Thank you, for… sending Derek to pick me up.”
“Well, I was hoping you would finally talk,” Hotch replied, smiling at her. “That he proposed exceeds my highest expectations, though.”
Penelope blushed and fidgeted with the ring on her finger.
“I guess that’s the reason you invited us over,” Hotch stated. “That and the baby.”
“Isn’t it boring at times to know everything beforehand?” Penelope sighed. “I mean, where’s the surprise life holds ready for you?”
“I don’t know everything beforehand,” Hotch smirked. “Luckily, I’ve got people like you in my life, who manage to surprise me every now and then.”
“Well, it didn’t work this time,” she said, shrugging.
“I was pretty surprised when you told me you were pregnant,” he admitted. “By the way, I tried to convince them wine wasn’t the best idea, but they wouldn’t listen.”
“Yeah, well, they’ll figure it out themselves after dinner, I guess.” Penelope smiled at him.
“Hey there, are you frozen to the floor or something?” Emily called out for them.
Chuckling, Penelope and Hotch joined the rest of the team in the living room.
“Where’s Derek, anyway?” JJ wanted to know.
“He’s in the kitchen preparing the chili,” Penelope replied.
Emily grimaced. “You sure you should let him do that without supervision?”
“Okay, maybe I should check on the dinner,” Penelope giggled. “Make yourselves at home.”
Penelope stepped inside the kitchen and remained standing in the doorframe for a while. “Derek Morgan in an apron standing in front of the oven preparing dinner, and I didn’t bring my camera along.”
“One day, and you turned my independent, go-go self into a homemaker.” Derek sighed theatrically.
“I don’t know…” Penelope sashayed closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. “For me, it’s kinda sexy.”
“Well, then,” he said, turning in her embrace and leaning in closer, “I’m gonna play the dream hubby for as long as you want me to.”
He crossed the small distance between them to get lost in another breathtaking kiss.
Only a second later, a squee at the door made them jump apart.
“Oh. My. God,” JJ exclaimed, squeed again, and disappeared into the living room.
“You won’t believe what I just saw right in that kitchen,” they heard her almost shout at the others, as they followed her. “He kissed her. Derek Morgan just kissed Penelope, right on her lips.”
Wrapping his arm around Penelope’s waist, Derek led her into his living room. “Well, that wasn’t the way we were planning on telling you, but… Yes, we’re an item. We’re gonna get married, and we’re having a baby.”
Emily’s and JJ’s jaws almost hit the floor. The latter let herself sink on the sofa.
“When did all that happen?” Emily asked, still standing there open-mouthed.
“Maybe we should eat first,” Derek replied, smiling at her. “That’s… a long story, kind of.”